Farley Capital L.P. Has $22.95 Million Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Farley Capital L.P. cut its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,342 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 20.5% of Farley Capital L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Farley Capital L.P.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $22,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Greystone Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 32,707 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,618,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Bluestem Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 20.3% during the second quarter. Bluestem Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,199 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Intelligence Driven Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter. Intelligence Driven Advisers LLC now owns 3,480 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,555,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the period. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,431 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,874,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Post Investment Office LP lifted its stake in Microsoft by 213.4% during the second quarter. Seven Post Investment Office LP now owns 6,462 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,888,000 after buying an additional 4,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,552,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $506.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $495.68.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $418.78 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $419.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $424.55. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $324.39 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.69 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.74%.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.